The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 review: Midge and Co. stumble in their final bow
The closing chapter of the Prime Video hit is more monotonous than marvelous
TV Reviews Maisel
“It’s two steps forward, three steps back, and I’m tired of it,” our titular housewife-turned-comedienne carps in frustration in the fifth and final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which drops its first three episodes on Prime Video on April 14. (One-a-week episodes follow until the series finale on May 26.)
And she’s justified in her grievance: Miriam “Midge” Maisel (an ever-game Rachel Brosnahan) has been yanked from the precipice of stardom back to the valley of the underdogs a dizzying number of times over the course of five seasons, which saw the Upper West Side mother of two turn a cuckquean-ing from her cheating husband Joel (Michael Zegen) into a full-blown stand-up profession. But given that, yet again, Midge’s career setbacks are the direct and avoidable result of her own inner self-saboteur—a character trait that has become less ballsy and more bratty over the years—that frustration isn’t hers alone to bear.
After a fourth season that felt very much like a reset—Midge back at professional rock bottom (i.e., emceeing an illegal strip club) after her quick mouth royally mucked up that Shy Baldwin opening gig—season five looked like an opportune time for the impulsive comic to finally learn from her ways, especially after that Carnegie Hall callout from her mostly mentor/sometimes love interest/always cautionary tale Lenny Bruce (a sensational Luke Kirby) in the season-four finale. “If you blow this, Midge, I swear it will break my fucking heart,” Lenny tearfully told her on the stage of that historic hall, a promise of what she could have if she’d only get out of her own way.
It sure was a galvanizing speech, which makes it all the more exasperating to see not only Miriam quickly fall into her old habits, but the show itself. Midge starts yet another job—rife with opportunities for the set designers and costume department to go ham with gorgeous, period-specific details—this time at The Gordon Ford Show, a The Tonight Show-esque operation with Veep’s Reid Scott bumped up to series regular to play its titular host, another square-jawed, square-haired gent to first fawn over and then, yes, become frustrated by the ever-stubborn Midge. (Speaking of square-jawed gents, the return of Milo Ventimiglia’s aptly named “The Handsome Man” serves no other purpose than to tickle Gilmore Girls fans and give us a look at the 1960s-era New York City subway system.)
For five seasons of Mrs. Maisel, co-creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have struggled with self-indulgence, yielding to their own whimsical whims as often as Midge’s tireless manager Susie Myerson (scene stealer Alex Borstein) appeases her most tempestuous client. Back in Gilmore land, the Palladinos had 20-plus episodes per season with which to plumb every quirk and quibble of Stars Hollow, a luxury they simply don’t have with Maisel’s more economic, single-digit episode counts.
And in a curtain-call of a season, when you want to see that dream-to-reality pipeline finally pay off, those signature extravagances—that subway-set chase between Brosnahan and Ventimiglia, say, or an in-universe family sitcom starring Sherman-Palladino’s Bunheads leading lady Sutton Foster and Hank Azaria, or an inexplicably eight-minute-long musical segment devoted to, uh, trash—are now less endearing and more exhausting. It’s a style-over-substance creative choice that sucks fleeting screen time away from more meaningful storylines. (Fans of one beloved character, in particular, will no doubt be disappointed by this season’s showing, left instead with cameos by, count ‘em, five more Gilmore alums, as well as Glee’s Darren Criss, for some reason.)
The Maisel-verse stretches exponentially in season five, transporting us to brand-new continents for the show, and the already-considerable wardrobe budget makes room for the feather-trimmed caftans and groovy pantsuits of years to come. And the gap between reality and fiction narrows further than it has before—where having a real-life figure like Lenny Bruce living and breathing in its world was once a singular novelty, Mrs. Maisel goes full-blown Forrest Gump in its last hurrah, with everyone from rock stars to royals getting entangled in Midge’s everyday.
That is to say that, yes, after a final self-destructive act, Miriam’s recklessness miraculously, marvelously pays off. The problem is that we don’t get to see it. Sure, we hear about the world tours and the famous lovers, but all of that largely happens offscreen, the audience held at a distance, with all of those previously mentioned diversions and distractions (we’re still on Rose Weissman’s matchmaking mafia schtick?!) regrettably filling that void. For a series as unabashedly taken with visuals, so many crucial plot points this time around are not shown but told.
The Palladino pair previously admitted that they didn’t have a five-season plan for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in place when the series began, a lack of foresight that resulted in an aimlessness that bogged down the previous two seasons. Season five sees a big structural shift in its storytelling, one that would have been helpful had it been incorporated earlier in the show, as a reminder—no, a reassurance—that for all of Miriam’s regressions and recklessness, there was a point to it all. An endpoint, as it were.
“Go Forward!” that big billboard beckoned Midge going into season five. And The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel does eventually go forward. It just sadly doesn’t take us along for the ride.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 5 premieres April 14 on Prime Video
38 Comments
Not going to read since you guys do pretty spoiler heavy reviews lately, even if the thing hasn’t come out yet. Just wanted to say I really thought that was Jon Bernthal in that header photo.
“This reviewer was not expecting the shocking murder-suicide climax!”
AV Club’s attempts to hide spoilers are like – “[Redacted] on his shocking death and his role as Midge’s father on the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
How about you let the rest of us actually watch the season before you shit all over it?
That’s a weird thing to say to a pop culture critic. Just don’t read it? Now I shall leave this conversation because I do not want to get into the circular “I have a right to have an opinion about an opinion” debate.
Do you not understand what a pre-air review is?
Honestly, my complaint is they don’t indicate how much of the season they’ve seen and are reviewing; usually they divulge that info and it helps contextualize their review.
I went to other sites and surprisingly most didn’t divulge it all. Finally found one that mentioned they got the entire season.
It was so great when it came out but last season was just.. so flat. And this was always the case with shows that do not have a plan. Just… circling and repeating jokes that have less and less impact.
“Fans of Luke Kirby’s Lenny and Stephanie Hsu’s Mei, in particular, will no doubt be disappointed by this season’s showing”So are they in the show at all this season? Or just sparingly?
What if we’re not fans? Or only a fan of one of them? Then what?
I was never really a fan of this Lenny Bruce. Also, there was also the obvious dark cloud hovering over his character that doesn’t really dovetail with the tone of the show.
Mei is an awful, awful character that seems like a bad parody of Palladinio’s heroines.
Agree. Her acting is probably in line with their direction, calling for that ham-handed 1940’s style of corniness- but it does not work in the 202o’s, particularly in a contemporary series with f-bombs and tits etc. etc… it just reads like really annoying, crappy acting. I actually feel bad for her as an actress because I doubt most of it is her fault, but I cannot stand any scene or storyline with her now. And same for Joel’s character… just burn his morose ass with fire. Again, fine actor – can’t stand his character or their story.
I am a big fan of Stephanie Hsu’s Mei and Joel. So looking forward to seeing more of her storyline. Guess not going to happen.
And while we’re at it, can we just get rid of the damn trailers?? They spoil the highlights! Don’t show me the great characters issuing their best lines! And stop with the fabulous sets and background music! You’re RUINING everything!
Well, shit. That was exactly what I was worried about.
Amy Sherman-Palladino has a talent for establishing beautiful worlds, becoming bored with them and never sticking the landing.
That’s a shame. All the same, should I watch Gilmore Girls? My ex used to be a big fan and always told me that I’d dig it, but it always seemed kind of like Felicity or something to me. I love Mrs Maisel (mostly), though. Is it at all similar with the snappy back and forths and everything?
Yes, if you like that about Maisel you’ll enjoy Gilmore Girls. I’m on my 50th rewatch now (showing it to my boyfriend who’s never seen it – he needed some convincing but became a fan in season two) and it’s still my favorite show 20 years later. Though the storylines are very different, the pacing and the tone is essentially the same.
Yes, watch “Gilmore Girls.” I had similar fears before I watched some years ago, but my wife got me hooked. Excellent storylines, surprising depth, and an impressively nuanced look at the complexities of parent/child relationships – and not even just the title characters, but the main adult character and her parents as well. The show has a great beating heart – check it out! (And yes, the snappy dialogue is here in all its glory – as a writer myself, I enjoy it – kind of like a pop-cultured, alt-Aaron Sorkin style.)
I’m not sure I would say that ASP is bored with the world of Mrs. Maisel, but she sure as shit is easily distracted. I’ve watched the first three episodes of this season, and one of the reasons why it’s pretty mediocre so far is that we’re spending SO much time with secondary characters who were quirky in season 1, but since then have just become distractions. You’ll never convince me that a single viewer cares one whit for Joel’s parents. And yet we’ve got an entire storyline about their marital troubles. And Abe at the Village Voice? Boring. The core relationship of Mrs. Maisel is Midge and Susie. But we spend so little time with them because ASP is constantly diverting you to watch Abe and Rose (a matchmaking mafia? Really?) or to Joel (why again do we care what he’s doing?). All of this takes away from focusing on Midge and Susie navigating the entertainment industry and the challenges to Midge’s career. As a result, it seems like Midge bounces from one pivotal career point to another, rather than working to accomplish things or overcome adversity. So Midge seems more like a Pollyanna who gets a lot just handed to her while she behaves like an asshole.I will say this about season 5: For the first time, the show actually seems to be demonstrating some awareness of how much of an asshole Midge is, particularly to her kids. It’s a complete tonal shock from the rest of the show, but the flash-forwards that lead into the first three episodes make it pretty clear that Midge’s success has come at the cost of her family, and that she’s still pretty self-centered and blind to that. I’m glad to see that, because the show has given her and Joel a pass on being truly negligent parents for 4 seasons now.
Don’t fret, practically every other media outlet is singing the praises of the final season.
It took my ten reviews to find the answer but it does look like the entire season (nine episodes) was screened for critics (thanks moviesr.net for being the only review out of the top ten Google results found that actually bothered to mention this).Most of the other reviews I clicked through to find this info were very positive FWIW.
Yeah, this is the only kinda negative one I’ve seen and judging by the first three episodes, I don’t get it at all. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a score of 96%! So far, it’s the best it’s been since season 2 IMO.
I was a little iffy on some of the decisions in the first three episodes. I’m not sure the flash-forwards are a good idea but am hoping they’re leading somewhere (this review seems to indicate they don’t). If anything, they paint a somewhat sad picture of Midge’s future as she has her fame but seems to have lost her friendship with Susie and has fractured relationships with her children. And it also felt like they wrote Mei and Lenny out really quickly (but could be wrong there and maybe one or both return later).That being said, I don’t mind the sideplots with the other characters as this reviewer does. So I still am enjoying the show.
Finally getting around to watching this now…. It’s really strange how they spent more time on a one-off character from season one that I completely forgot about than on Mei… whose plotline resolves in probably the least interesting way you can.
Yea still just kind of holding off on judging season as a whole. But it really feels like a misstep to show Midge in future.
Future entertainment historians will look at this show as part of the start of short season streaming tv era for all of its good and bad. I am an OLD and I am starting to miss the 20+ episode start every fall and run to every spring of the TV of the past and not wait 2+ years for an 8 episode season. I like Maisel it was the first show we ever really streamed as we still had cable tv when it started. We since cord cut and have several streaming subscriptions.
I’ve always thought Mrs. Maisel was a good example of a longer-form TV writing team struggling with the transition to streaming. A TV show like Gilmore Girls had a familiar pace for TV writers—22 episodes spread throughout 3 seasons. I always felt like ASP and the rest of the team really struggled with how to pace a show and create an arc for the streaming ecosystem. As a result, sometimes the seasons have really weird pacing, like there will be a huge jump between episodes. Or each episode will feel like a standalone that exists pretty separately from the ones around it. It’s a real problem for the show. Like it or not, TV producers have to consider how the binge-format influences the viewer’s perception of the pacing of the show. If you’re doing 10 episodes and spreading them out over 3 months, then the show can “feel” right if it takes place over the span of a year. But if you’re dropping all 10 episodes at once (like seasons 1-4 of Maisel did), then it’s going to seem like frenetic pacing for viewers to cover 12 months of “show” time in, say, 5 days. It’s a tricky shift to make, to think about a show in terms of how the length of season (10 vs. 22 episodes) and viewing format (streaming/binge watching vs. weekly release) affect the experience for the viewer.
yes all of that and with its awards, release era and popularity are why I think is really was/is an important part of tv history as tv switched from 22 episodes over 9 months to 8-10 episodes dumped as once or over 2 months.
I was surprised this was still on. I stopped watching halfway at season 3 because it Midge was getting on my nerves with the constant self-sabotage of her comedy career. Don’t know if I’ll even bother with season 5. I’m so over this show.
Oh lord. That opening scene with the daughter was just unwatchable.
There are some choices right now that I really like. I think the supporting cast is a little let down here. I do think this episode suffers a little bit from reality. I don’t think they ever planned for Lenny and Midge to be an actual thing and then Luke Kirby was amazing and so was the chemistry.The problem with that is there’s no possible happy ending on a show that’s not that dark.
Wow, this is the first negative review of the season I’ve seen. I wonder what particular thing set off the AV club’s sensibilities.
I am disappointed in the flash forwards.. I was hoping it was a fake out or a dream. I always thought they would end by just showing a taste of success so her friends and always skeptical family knew she was actually talented (like a TV appearance on the show she is now writing for). And to show her choice to do this was finally worth it. But the fawning “living legend” stuff was unrealistic and audience pandering. In the early 1960’s and where she is now in this season with two kids in her 30’s, that kind of sudden star rise just seems really unrealistic for the times, especially since she does not act like Lucille Ball or Carroll Burnett did. (not to mention the self sabotage of Midge that was pretty constant in theme). The age of comedians becoming huge just on their own comedy really did not start happening until the 1970’s. They have blended in some fictional stuff like Shy Baldwin before and the Gordon Ford Show, this is basically rewriting the entire history of comedy. Might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought it was too much.
Well, now it’s all out I guess we know this review was full of shit.
My take: the timeline jumping throughout the season was excessive and didn’t serve an important dramatic purpose but did tend to blunt the suspense. The last episode was kind of a letdown, her “big break” four minutes wasn’t all that funny and by then we know her whole future, so it was an anti-climax. And that end bit about watching Jeopardy together was just dreadful. That was Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner’s thing, they did it in person. It seems like the writers ran out of ideas, so they just borrowed someone else’s dotage. If Midge or Susie had expired, or they had discussed something that tied up a part of the plot, or something similar, it might have justified that last scene. Even a throwaway gag having Midge be the answer to one of the Jeopardy questions, especially in past tense! But no. I just found it disappointing because I like a series to lead to something, to end smartly, and this didn’t. There were many great moments in the five seasons but seems like a lot of missed opportunities at the end.